Letter: Faith and business

Recent letters have demanded laws to protect business in the guise of "religious freedom," when such laws have precisely the opposite effect. These proposed laws would further concentrate coercive power into the hands of businessmen and women. They want the power to enforce their religious beliefs on their customers (Arlene's Flowers, Catholic hospitals) and employees (Hobby Lobby).

Rev. Emily C. Heath recently asked the rhetorical question: "My religious liberty is at risk because: A) I am being forced to use birth control. Or B) I am unable to force others to not use birth control." The answer should be obvious.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his Employment Division v. Smith majority opinion wrote that granting a single religious exemption opened the doors to many others, "ranging from compulsory military service, to the payment of taxes, to health and safety regulation such as manslaughter and child neglect laws, compulsory vaccination laws, drug laws, and traffic laws." Scalia is either a racist in opposing the religious use of peyote by Native Americans (Smith), or prescient.

Doing business is a privilege. It is vital to our health to keep businesses from forcing their religious beliefs on others.